Withings expands health and fitness line up with £119 Pulse HR fitness tracker


Just two months after its official return, French digital health company Withings has announced Pulse HR, a water-resistant fitness tracker offering HR measurement, connected GPS tracking, smartphone notifications and 20 day battery life.

Committed to offering premium designed connected devices, Pulse HR brings a classic fitness tracker design option to Withings‘ range, while still offering the key features people enjoy in the Steel and Steel HR watch range, such as a category-leading 20-day battery life. Pulse HR begins pre-sales today and will ship in time for Christmas from December 5, 2018 priced £119.95.

Reviving the classic design of Withings Pulse, the first tracker that Withings ever launched in 2013, Pulse HR expands Withings‘ activity tracker range to allow people to select the wearable design that best suits their daily lives. Pulse HR features a reinforced black polycarbonate surface within a 316L stainless steel casing. The device comes with a black soft silicone wristband that can be exchanged for different wristband colour options to complement each user’s personal style.

By simply raising their wrists or pressing the button on the tracker, users can see and scroll through a wealth of information on the OLED display including time and date, heart rate, calories burned, progress towards daily activity goals, real-time workout information and smartphone notifications.

Pulse HR is also equipped with a PPG (photoplethysmography) heart rate sensor which measures the pulse in 10-min intervals throughout day and night and also offers continuous heart rate measurements during workout sessions. The continuous heart rate measurement feature provides users with a breakdown of their workout session heart rate zones so they can easily track their levels from workout to workout and reach their fitness goals.

Like all Steel HR watches, Pulse HR offers dedicated multisport tracking for over 30 different activities from yoga, volleyball and rowing to boxing, skiing and ice hockey. Users select the chosen activity using the tracker display, and can customise which activities are available on the display through the Health Mate app.

“At Withings, we are dedicated to providing people with premium health and fitness tracking options that they can select from that best suit their personal lifestyles. With Pulse HR, we wanted to give people a new form factor from our Steel and Steel HR range that still offers the same wearability, quality design and best in class battery life. The band is the perfect fit for anyone who wants a device that offers important tracking features like heart rate monitoring at an affordable rate.”
Eric Carreel, President of Withings

During workout sessions, Pulse HR continuously tracks and displays heart rate and the duration of the workout directly on the screen. After the session, users can understand the intensity of their workout with heart rate zones and calories spent based on the specific activity selected. Pulse HR also offers automatic activity recognition for over 10 activities including walking, running and swimming. Pulse HR is water resistant up to 50 metres.

Pulse HR also features Connected GPS to offer detailed workout information around outdoor activities. Once paired with a smartphone, users can track their pace, distance, elevation and map their workouts during activities like walking, running, hiking or cycling. Pace, distance and time are displayed on the screen and can be tracked live on the user’s phone. After a session, the user’s workout route can be viewed in the Health Mate app.

When worn at night, Pulse HR tracks sleep patterns and offers analysis. It detects length and quality of sleep, while providing an overall Sleep Score in the Health Mate app that is based on data such as sleep duration, depth regularity and interruptions.

Pulse HR has capabilities such as Smart Wake-up that will wake users with vibration alarms at the most optimal times during their sleep cycle. The app even offers a Sleep Smarter Program, consisting of eight weeks of recommendations to improve sleep patterns.

Pulse HR keeps users connected through smart notifications that display directly on the tracker screen and can be personalized in the Health Mate app. The tracker will alert users with a soft vibration when they receive calls, texts, emails, event reminders as well as notifications from hundreds of apps ranging from news alerts, travel services and social networking and messaging apps. 

Pulse HR connects with the free Health Mate app, available both on Android and iOS, where users can view all of their data, get insights, schedule activity reminders, set goals and manage their successes. Health Mate also connects with more than 100 third-party apps such as Apple Health, Google Fit, or MyFitnessPal.

Pulse HR is available for pre-order now on Amazon.com and on withings.com for £119.95 and will be fully available on December 5. Starting January 2019, additional wristband colour options will be available.

Chris Price